Chapter 50: Nourishing a Sword? Sleeping in the Same Bed!

On the way back after the semi-finals, Meng Yingxing and Xiu Qingcheng ran into Mò Kǎimíng again.

Or rather, since they were both among the top-ranked contestants in the Divine Weapon Trial, it was quite reasonable to run into each other at the venue.

Originally, Meng Yingxing and Xiu Qingcheng thought that Mò Kǎimíng would act as if he didn’t know them, just like before.

But this time was different.
Just as Meng Yingxing was about to brush past him, Mò Kǎimíng shifted his body slightly and blocked Meng Yingxing’s path.

“What do you want! Are you looking for trouble!”

Before Meng Yingxing could even react, Xiu Qingcheng had already started shouting.

Mò Kǎimíng had injured Meng Yingxing so badly; Xiu Qingcheng had taken note of this debt!

However, according to Xiu Qingcheng’s method of holding grudges, everyone in the Divine Weapon Trial who had faced Meng Yingxing would have to be on her grudge list.

Unfortunately, right now, Xiu Qingcheng’s condemnation of Mò Kǎimíng could only be heard by Meng Yingxing.

“Is there something you need?”

Meng Yingxing looked at Mò Kǎimíng with a placid expression.

Although Meng Yingxing always looked like a foolish blockhead in front of Xiu Qingcheng, when facing outsiders, he always had an aloof and indifferent demeanor.

“I came to congratulate you on securing a spot in the top two of the Divine Weapon Trial.”

Mò Kǎimíng spoke, his words seemingly at odds with his persona as a proud and talented young man.

Meng Yingxing hadn’t expected Mò Kǎimíng to come and congratulate him.
Although he was slightly surprised, his expression naturally remained calm.

“I should congratulate you too, for ranking thir-d~”

Taking advantage of the fact that others couldn’t hear her, Xiu Qingcheng fiercely attacked him in Meng Yingxing’s mind.

‘Anyway, no one knows I exist, so I can say what I want.’

Although Mò Kǎimíng had been defeated by Meng Yingxing in an earlier match, he was basically unbeatable in the subsequent ones.

He had steamrolled his way through, and his final rank was third place.

The battle for first and second place in the Divine Weapon Trial would be between the so-far undefeated Meng Yingxing and one other person.

“Thank you.”

Not knowing what else to say at this moment, Meng Yingxing gave Mò Kǎimíng a slight nod.

“If there’s a chance in the future, how about we have another match?”

Mò Kǎimíng looked at Meng Yingxing, finally revealing his true purpose for coming.

When Meng Yingxing met Mò Kǎimíng’s gaze, Xiu Qingcheng could see a fire burning in Mò Kǎimíng’s initially calm pupils.

‘As expected, this fits my image of a genius perfectly.’

‘All the novels I’ve read wrote it this way.’

A genius who had always been held in high regard was pulled down into the mud by someone from the ground.

This would be an unbearable weight for a genius, and it would become a lifelong obsession for many.

‘This isn’t me holding a grudge against Mò Kǎimíng, this is clearly Mò Kǎimíng holding a grudge against Meng Yingxing!’

‘His revenge against Meng Yingxing will be endless!’

“Quick, disciple, think of a way to bluff your way out of this, or you’ll be pestered to death by him in the future!”

Xiu Qingcheng urged Meng Yingxing to get away quickly.

“Just say your favorite sword broke and you can’t make the appointment.”

“Or this, say your sword is about to give birth, and you have to leave!”

“If he asks whose child it is, just say it’s yours! Don’t care if it’s absurd, just say it!”

Meng Yingxing: ‘Master, isn’t that a bit…?’

‘Isn’t that a bit detached from reality?’

Meng Yingxing’s face twitched imperceptibly.
He just took it as his master’s daily bout of madness and got used to it.

Then, Meng Yingxing fearlessly met Mò Kǎimíng’s gaze and accepted his invitation.

“If there’s a chance.”

He had planned to challenge Mò Kǎimíng to a rematch in the future anyway, so agreeing now made no difference.

“Good!” Mò Kǎimíng said heavily. “I’ll be waiting for you, Meng Yingxing!”

As if he had just delivered a threat, Mò Kǎimíng flicked his sleeve and quickly walked away.

“Foolish disciple, making trouble for yourself.”

Xiu Qingcheng swayed a few times in the scabbard on Meng Yingxing’s back.

Meng Yingxing just smiled. “Pressure creates more motivation.”

Meng Yingxing’s opponent in the final battle was a man named Ye Xuan.

At fifteen years old, he had already reached the high-grade Sub-Star realm.
Although he was still a bit lacking compared to Mò Kǎimíng, he was infinitely close to the Faint Star realm.

Like Mò Kǎimíng, he came from the Ye family, one of the four great families of Yongning City at the foot of the Tianfeng Sect.
He was also exceptionally talented and wealthy.

“I hate rich people the most!”

While supervising Meng Yingxing’s body tempering and sword practice, they analyzed Ye Xuan, and Xiu Qingcheng made this statement.

Even after being reincarnated into another world, Xiu Qingcheng, who had been a poor slob in her previous life, still looked down on the rich.

“Especially talented rich people!”

The speed at which these talented people with family backing cultivated their spiritual energy was simply incomparable to that of ordinary people.
It wasn’t fair at all.

But as everyone knew, the world was never fair.

For example, when Xiu Qingcheng saw through her opponents’ moves during Meng Yingxing’s battles and gave him pointers, it was also a kind of unfairness to others.

Xiu Qingcheng didn’t care.
After all, as she had said, a little cheat wasn’t really a cheat.

“Disciple, your sword is still too slow.”

After the first few battles, Xiu Qingcheng discovered a more obvious weakness in Meng Yingxing.

“I can tell you the opponent’s movements and positions, but many times, the speed of your sword can’t keep up with what I’m saying, which makes the information I give you useless.”

“You need to trust your sword more, trust your swordsmanship, and have a closer connection with the Ting Tian Sword.”

Xiu Qingcheng circled around Meng Yingxing.

After hearing Xiu Qingcheng’s words, Meng Yingxing fell into a moment of deep thought.

A little while later, Meng Yingxing finally raised his head and tentatively asked Xiu Qingcheng:
“Master… have you ever heard of the term ‘nourishing a sword’?”

Xiu Qingcheng swayed in mid-air, seemingly puzzled.

“Nourishing a sword? What Yang Jian? Erlang Shen?”

Meng Yingxing explained to Xiu Qingcheng:
“I heard before that many swordsmen sleep with their swords held close to their bodies.”

“Over time, this can enhance the connection between the swordsman and the sword, and the sword techniques will become sharper. This is called ‘nourishing a sword’.”

This was the first time Xiu Qingcheng had heard of this concept of ‘nourishing a sword’ that Meng Yingxing was talking about.

“It sounds like nurturing a sword with one’s own aura… it does seem to make some sense.”

Xiu Qingcheng nodded, then asked again, “So?”

Meng Yingxing hesitated for a moment, then said, “Master, you said that my connection with the Ting Tian Sword is still too weak, so I want to try this method.”

“If it really works, there’s no harm in trying.”

Xiu Qingcheng agreed to Meng Yingxing’s suggestion without a second thought, seemingly completely unaware that she was the Ting Tian Sword with which he wanted to strengthen his connection.

It wasn’t until that night, when Meng Yingxing gave up his practice of cultivating instead of sleeping and held the Ting Tian Sword half-embraced in his bed, that Xiu Qingcheng belatedly realized.

“W-wait a minute?”

Xiu Qingcheng flew out of Meng Yingxing’s arms, somewhat confused.

“What are you doing?”

Meng Yingxing, dressed in his inner clothes, looked at Xiu Qingcheng with an innocent expression. “Using the method of nourishing a sword to see if I can strengthen my connection with the Ting Tian Sword.”

“You agreed to it too, Master.”

The confused Xiu Qingcheng remembered that this had indeed happened.

The belated realization made her want to slap her past self.

But as a master, her word was her bond.
She couldn’t possibly refuse something she had promised her disciple at this critical juncture.

Besides, what Meng Yingxing said about nourishing a sword did seem to have some merit.

Then she might as well give it a try.

But sleeping with her own disciple, why did it always feel so strange?

Xiu Qingcheng could only comfort herself by thinking of it as sleeping with a good brother.

Maybe in the end, it would be good for him, and good for her too?

Sacrifice the small self to achieve the greater good!

Unfortunately, Xiu Qingcheng was overthinking it.
In Meng Yingxing’s eyes, Xiu Qingcheng was still just a sword.